The Chains We Break
by XIIIth Hazard
Summary: (Part: 9) – Captured and forced to do their enemy's bidding, the Turtles must escape Shredder's grip to finally take down their life-long enemy, but will they "live" to tell the tale? Turtle-Verse/Alternate Dimension. (Sequel: to 'The Peaks We Climb.')
1. Prologue

I don't own TMNT

Check my Profile for a list of what order to read these in, please check out my other stories as well, and I always love friendly comments.

Welcome to Part 9:

* * *

 _The Chains We Break_

Prologue:

( _3_ _rd_ :)

The world was barren, desolate; with nothing but desert stretching as far as the eye could see, though if you traveled far enough in the right direction you'd find an _ocean_ , an ocean devoid of life and full of tasteless water.

He knew this ocean as the border of his own subconscious, and though he'd tried many times to cross it, he always ended up right back here, walking the sands, trying desperately to find a way out of this prison.

He'd been there so long he wasn't even sure he remembered his own name anymore, though he had reason to believe it started with a D; as he had found a message, possibly left by _himself_ , carved into the sand, trying to remind him of what he needed to do.

It had told him to keep looking, that he had to get back to his family, it had been signed, however, all but the first letter of the name had been watched away by an undetectable wind.

He couldn't help but sigh as he looked up from his walking to see a familiar skyline appearing in the distance. It was the _city_ , that's all he knew it as, a city that continued to grow, invading the land like a parasite. No matter how far he walked, he always returned here, never far from its ever encroaching reach.

Tired and weak, he fell to the ground and laid in the sand as he watched the blocks of the buildings form themselves into shapes, intruding further inland as a solid representative to the damage it was inflicting on his _mind_.

…

"Donatello."

Was that his name?

"Donatello!" The voice repeated itself, causing the turtle to open his eyes, discovering that the city had invaded the land all around him as he'd rested. Though they were arranged in different orders he knew the structures were all the _same_ , providing a difficult maze to navigate.

But he no longer had the strength to outrun it, or the will to escape the _loop_. There was nothing to go back to, he was alone and lost. Better to just let the city take him than keep fighting.

"Donatello," The voice interrupted again, forcing him to look around in an attempt to find it and demand that it leave him in peace. At first, he didn't see anything, leaving him to believe that he was hallucinating, it wouldn't be the first time. But, as he turned to look in the other direction, a form appeared and he stopped to focus on it.

"I know you," He told it as the man walked forward to kneel in front of him.

"You must get up," The mirage insisted kindly, "I have not protected you this long just for you to give in at the last moment."

"Olcadan?" He finally asked it as the name came to mind and the man smiled. Though it was a strange expression to see on his bird-like face; the turtle still found it to be comforting.

"Get up, Donatello," Olcadan informed him, reaching out to lay a hand on his shoulder. The shocking _weight_ , a feeling he hadn't felt in so long, was proof enough that this person was _real_ , "You have work to do," He added sternly, which only caused Donatello to look at the ground.

"Get up," He proclaimed again, far more insistently this time, causing the turtle to shun away from the sound, "Get up! GET UP!"

His voice echoed off the empty city walls, causing Donatello to flinch as if he'd been struck; only to discover with an uncertain level of shock that he was now on his feet again, despite not remembering the action.

Looking up again, he deflated as he discovered Olcadan was _gone_ , leaving him along once more. "But there's nothing _here_ ," He told the vacant air sadly.

"There _is_ , if you _look_ ," Olcadan's voice answered, causing him to spin around in an attempt to locate the man, but he remained nonexistent.

"What does that mean?" He asked in a quiet voice, but this time he received no answer and had no reason to believe otherwise.

…

Not possessing the strength to outrun the infectious city again, he just sat on one of the dull gray benches that it had produced and watched as it expanded around him. Most anyone would have found the sight amazing, but not him, for somehow he _knew_ that it was responsible for his state of being.

It was breaking into his mind, little by little and he couldn't stop it, all he could do was watch and wait as it took more of his memories and more of his life.

However, as he watched it this time he noticed something he hadn't before. Though he had learned long ago that the city was _full_ of _information_ , and had gone to great lengths to learn all that he could from it, it wasn't until now, at his lowest state that he realized it didn't just _contain_ that knowledge, it was _made_ of it.

As he continued to focus on the city building itself around him he began to see more and more of the _code_ underneath; until eventually the code was all he saw.

Looking back at the ground he reached down to pick up a handful of sand, realizing that it was supposed to represent his _mind_. But he _knew_ his mind and it _didn't_ look like _this_.

"I'm in a _computer_ ," He suddenly said out loud as his brain put the pieces together and he looked up again to watch the city continue growing in all directions, even _up_.

…

It had been so long since he'd entered one of the buildings, as he no longer had any use for them, having learned everything they had to offer. But he remained calm as he opened the door to some kind of business, with nothing but empty rooms and soundless ghosts as its foundation.

Checking one last time to insure he indeed had the _tallest_ tower in the city, he quietly headed for the stairs, only to stop a few feet away and look at a wall. Now able to _see_ the coding the computer had put into its construction he decided to add a little of his _own_ and gently placed his hand against the wall to enforce his will onto the area and in a matter of moments the wall had reconfigured itself into a handy _elevator_.

He'd been walking far too _long_ ; he wasn't about to take the freaking _stairs_ to the top of this thing.

Once inside, he leaned against the wall to close his eyes. Forced to rest in response to the city claiming another area of his mind, causing the fatigue to set in again, but he remained strong as he waited for the elevator to reach the top, knowing that his fight was almost over.

One way or another.

…

179 floors, he would have acknowledged it as a _record_ if he knew it wasn't real. But he was still grateful when the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened to let him see out over the near endless expanse of buildings and skyscrapers encroaching steadily on the desert around it.

He had to give himself a little push to get moving again, but he was able to walk out onto the roof, leaving the elevator to disappear back into the surrounding code.

He wouldn't need it anymore.

Carefully, he climbed the short wall around the edge and looked down at the ground below, able to see much of the city now, as it constantly worked to recode the area into a continuous loop of buildings.

However, though he was tired and week, being so high strangely did not make him dizzy or disoriented, only _relieved_. And it was this new-found hope that gave him the strength to take that final step and fall into the abyss.

* * *

I admit I drew some inspiration from "Inception" for this chapter.

Love that movie! XD

I know it's a little confusing though, but don't worry, it'll make more sense in the next chapter


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

( _Donnie's POV_ )

I jumped slightly when I hit the ground; only to open my eyes and find myself surrounded by a soft _glow_. At first, I had to wonder if I was really dead, until I discovered I was lying on the bed of what appeared to be an advanced C.A.T. scanner.

Feeling the uncomfortable constriction of a breathing mask over my face, I tried to lift my hand to remove it, only to come to the understanding that I was being held down by several metal cuffs. But instead of panicking, I just calmly took in this new information and looked around again before finally spotting a mechanism above me.

Studying it momentarily, I came to understand that it _wasn't_ the control panel, but it would still work for what I needed.

The code of multicolored numbers that appeared before my eyes at this point allowed me to casually break into the machine, unlock the firewalls around its main server elsewhere in the room, before finally forcing it to turn off and release me.

Which it did without any complaint.

Once again, I lifted my hand to remove the mask, this time actually able to accomplish the task as the cuffs retreated and the machine opened up to let me out, giving me a chance to breath some real air for the first time in who knew how long.

Judging by the soreness of my body, I'd been lying there for a few days at least, but I didn't really care too much about that at the moment as I moved to find my feet again, only to nearly collapse.

I was lucky there was a table nearby for me to cling to, or I wouldn't have been able to avoid hitting the floor, but I still needed to rest in response to the unusual amount of energy I had been forced to use for the seemingly simple task, however worrying about it now wasn't going to help me, so I distracted myself with looking around again which eventually ended when I discovered what I was _wearing_.

"How long have I been here?" I asked absentmindedly as I took in the black suite, not unlike the ones the Black Gators wore, though not quite as complicated. Clearly, its only purpose was to break the connection I had with my brothers, for I couldn't sense them at all.

Deciding it was better to file this information away for now and think about something else before I gave myself a panic attack; I slowly decided to start looking for a way out of the room. However, when I found it, I quickly took notice of the two _forms_ in the matrix of code over my eyes that were clearly two _guards_ on the other side of the wall.

Too weak to take them on, I decided to try something else and used my new found ability to activate the nano-bots in their blood under my own command before forcing them to self-destruct.

When I heard two bodies hit the ground a second later, I took it as my Q to carefully maneuver myself over to the door, reprogram the control mechanism into the unlock position and walk out into the hall as the door opened for me, where I quietly reached down to check that both men were still alive.

Filing that move away to be used again, I pulled myself back onto my feet with the help of the wall and started following it in an attempt to find an exit.

…

Admittedly, I found it a little weird how _causally_ my mind was picking up on the technology around me, creating _loops_ for the cameras so I wouldn't be seen, knocking out more guards, so I didn't have to fight and all the while searching the databases for anything that could help me escape.

I _knew_ I hadn't been able to do this stuff before, but somehow it just felt – _natural_.

I needed to take a break about every other hall or so, as my body was still unusually weak and disorganized. But I made the best of it and looked up when a map of radio waves alerted me to the fact that there was a signal nearby that I recognized.

Calmly moving myself to the door I reached out to push a button on the wall causing it to open and inform me that it was just a supply closet, but I smiled as I discovered my gantlet as well as my surface-adapters sitting on a nearby shelve.

Looking around as I picked them up and put them on again, I also noticed my staff leaning against a wall which I immediately brought into my hands where its presence became more comforting then I would have ever imagined.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the rest of my gear and came to the depressing conclusion that it was probably destroyed when the Barron decided that it was of no use to him. This made me angry for a moment, as a lot of that stuff had been given to me by my loved ones.

So, I was understandably upset as I meandered from the room again, but quickly came to the realization that I had more _company_. But I found myself happy for something to hit this time, as I held up my gloved hand and manipulated the power within through my new mental connection to technology, causing a wall of purple energy to charge down the hall, taking the small battalion of guards to the floor like a translucent bulldozer.

Unfortunately, this left me with the tiring task of finding a path between them; as they now blocked my way, but, at least, I'd gotten my frustration out – and they hadn't seen me – that was always nice.

However, as I maneuvered past the last of them something caught my attention and I looked back at one to pull up a program from his suit; which displayed a live feed from a prison cell, with a prisoner I _recognized_.

 _Zira_.

…

"This is getting old," I mumbled to myself sourly as I leaned against my staff for support. My strength should have been improving by now, but it seemed to only be getting worse and all this damn _walking_ certainly wasn't helping.

I let myself casually lean against the opposite wall as I reached my destination and looked at the door to the cell, before working though the numbers on a locking dial in my head until everything lined up and I'd broken the code; causing the door to slide open.

I wasn't surprised that she didn't come out right away; clearly she thought it was just her captors again, but I wasn't really patient enough to wait for her to learn otherwise, we still needed to find a way _out_ of this place.

"Zira," I called weakly, complaining under my breath for not being up for the short 5 foot walk to the other side of the hall, "Zira, it's me," I added tiredly and looked up from my heavy breathing exercises when movement caught my eye, where I attempted to give her a little smile as she stared at me in shock.

"Donnie?" She asked as if she though I was just a mirage and I nodded causing her to inch toward me where she reached out to touch my face, as if trying to prove to herself that I was real.

Apparently she had decided that I _was_ a moment later, when she quickly reached out to hug me, which had me wincing painfully for a second causing her to pull back with an apologetic look about her.

"Hi," I offered poorly.

"Hi," She repeated with a little smile, before frowning as I tried to push myself off the wall, leaving her to look me up and down in an attempt to figure out what was wrong. "Are you okay? What did they _do_ to you?" She asked, worriedly reaching out for me again.

"They trapped my mind in a computer," I informed her, trying once again to get up only to quickly find that I couldn't. But, thankfully, I had _her_ now and she carefully pulled my arm over her shoulder to help me stand, "They were trying to break into my subconscious – and nearly _succeeded_ ," I admitted weakly as I hung at her side like a wet blanket.

"That sounds like my brother," She growled quietly.

"Any idea where we are?" I asked and she calmly shook her head.

"All I know is that Shredder gave _us_ to the Barron, your brothers are probably still with Captain Pointy Paints."

"Wonderful," I complained as I moved to look up again and started searching the nearby computers for an exit strategy, "Go that way," I informed her as she walked us past a hallway, causing her to pause and look from me to the hall and back again.

"Why?"

"There's a – a _teleporter_ ," I told her tiredly, causing her to raise an eyebrow at me in question, clearly wondering how it was I knew that, "Just trust me okay, it's there."

"Okay," She relented kindly and quietly hauled me down the hall of my choosing, "Lead the way."

* * *

Hope it makes a little more sense now.

^-^;


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

( _Donnie's POV_ )

"How did you do that?" Zira demanded about an hour later, when we'd run into some more guards, which I promptly knocked out via the destruction of their nano-bots, as I had before.

"I don't know yet," I admitted as we walked up to the door they had been guarding, "This is it," I told her before unlocking to door as well, causing her to look at me in shock. But I didn't have the strength to explain it to her right now, "Come on, let's get out of here," I informed her sourly.

"I always thought men were _weird_ , but you take the prize Donnie boy," She informed me as she walked into the room, where we found a large machine that I recognized as the Barron's teleporter.

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere," She declared as she gently sat me in a chair, so she could see what she could do about activating the thing, "Purr baby, purr." She cooed as it started up and turned back to help me again only to discover that I was _distracted_ by something else.

"What is it?" She demanded, looking at the door as I continued to watch it curiously.

" _Mikey_?" I asked quietly, more to myself than her as I forced myself back to my feet and walked into the hall again.

"He's here?" She asked as she followed me and I nodded, sure that I was indeed sensing my little brother somewhere in the complex.

"He must have just teleported here, I didn't _feel_ him before," I told her, before I reached out for the wall and started forcing myself forward again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the phone," She interrupted, coming around to stand in front of me, "Your brothers are probably under the control of Shredder, you can't _fight_ them."

"I won't have to," I told her stubbornly as I moved around her, but she quickly got in my way again.

"Donnie, you're in no condition to –"

"I'm _not_ leaving him here, Zira," I proclaimed sternly, causing her to close her mouth around the rest of the argument and sigh.

"Alright – let's go get him," She finally relented, getting under my arm again to help me walk as I quietly led the way back through the complex, relying on a very _different_ kind of connection this time around.

…

I was nearly comatose when we reached the area that I was sensing my brother moving toward, but I somehow found the strength to stand a little straighter as I looked up to find Mikey walking around the corner in a manner that just didn't fit my baby brother at all.

There was no hop in his step, no grin on his face, no light in his eyes, just – mindless control.

However, he did stop when he saw us and we proceeded to watch each other for a moment until his orders seemed to decide that we weren't a threat and made to move past us.

"Mike," I stated sternly as he pushed me aside to continue walking down the hall, but I quickly reached out to grab his arm and stop him from going wherever it was he was programmed to go, "Mikey, listen to me," I insisted causing him to look down at my hand like he couldn't comprehend why it was there.

"I am here to deliver a message," He responded robotically as he looked up at me again and indicated the bag he had around his shoulder.

"Okay," Zira answered in confusion before looking at me, "Now what do we do?"

"I read something in the computer –" I started tiredly as I kept eye contact with my brother, "A new kind of _control_ the Barron was working on, something called a _brain worm_. It seems to work a lot better than the nano bots."

"So in other words – we're screwed?" She commented as Mikey looked forward again and started walking, but we quickly got in his way before he could move too far.

"No," I answered calmly as I reached out again to grab his arm so he'd stop moving. "They're still in the testing stage. I got a look at some notes earlier and I think we can free him if we _force_ his _emotions_ to the surface."

"And _how_ are we gonna do that?" She requested disbelievingly, but I didn't answer her this time as I watched my baby brother stand there in a confused state.

Mikey was normally _overly_ emotional and _that_ was going to be a problem, as those same emotions also made him extremely _mellow._ He wouldn't respond to anger or happiness, it had to be another, more potent emotion, one he couldn't control – I just wasn't sure I could _do_ it.

"Michelangelo," I stated suddenly extremely stern, as I steeled myself for what I was about to do, "You need to break free, right now," I ordered him seriously, causing him to blink in a confused manner as Zira watched me in shock.

"I'm serious, Mikey," I informed him as I stood up straighter, "If you _don't_ – I won't be your _brother_ anymore."

"Donnie," Zira complained, but I quietly held a hand up to silence her as I kept going.

"Is that what you want?" I asked cruelly, noticing a small twitch in his shoulders as I said this, "Raph and Leo already left you, I'm the only one here, if I leave I'll never come back," I threatened struggling hard not to break down as I watched something behind his eyes _plead_ for me to stop.

I waited a minute, looking for any kind of response, hoping that he would break out before I had to complete my threat. But he didn't.

"Fine," I started again, before turning to look away from him, "Let's go Zira, he doesn't _want_ us here," I added, willing myself to cause the _pain_ needed to break through to him, "He'd rather be _alone_ ," I finally finished, then started to walk, only to be forced to a stop once again when a pair of familiar arms grabbed me from behind.

"Don't go," Mikey begged in a small tone as he nuzzled into my back, "I don't wanna be _alone_ ," He added sadly and I clearly heard _tears_ in his voice as he fell to his knees, pleading with me not to leave him as I turned around again to quickly pull him into my arms, trying desperately to apologize for what I had said.

"I know," I told him kindly, hugging him for all I was worth, "You're not gonna be alone Mikey, _I'm right here_."

…

Mikey clung to my side like a clamp, refusing to let me go even for a second as we made our way back through the halls, taking out a few more guards as we went until finally we found the teleporter again.

"Come on, little brother," I told him gently as I rubbed his back, noticing that with him here, needing me so badly, that I somehow had the strength to walk on my own again, "Let's go home," I added with a smile and quietly led him into the teleporter, allowing Zira to activate it and finally send us all back to earth.

Thankfully, she had thought to make sure the trip wasn't as hard as the last one we had endured, and instead it let us down nice and soft on the ground just outside New Manhattan.

"Finally," I sighed as I took in the fresh air and looked down as Mikey continued to snuggle into me for comfort, "Mikey, look," I said, pointing toward the dome in an attempt to cheer him up, but he refused to let me out of his sight.

"Did you really need to be so _mean_ to him?" Zira asked as I hugged my little brother again, finding myself crushed by the guilt that I had been the own to cause him such pain.

"It was the only way," I whispered sadly, "I'm so sorry, Mikey," I told him around my own tears, "Please, forgive me."

"Hey!" Zira suddenly interrupted and I looked up to find her reaching for something on her neck only to pull her hand away and show me that it was a _tranquilizer dart_. "Oh, no," She added in a panic looking around in an attempt to find whoever was attacking us.

"No!" I called as I another one lodged into Mikey's shoulder and I quickly removed it, but it was too late, the drug had already been administered.

"Who's there?" Zira called into the trees around us as she started to succumb to the poison, leaving me to wince in slight pain myself and look down to find that I had been hit as well.

Somehow, I couldn't find it in me to care though. I didn't have the strength to carry Mikey out of there and I certainly wasn't going to leave him to face whatever this was alone. So, the only thing I could do was give in and allow our enemy to take us again.

* * *

Oh my goodness

;U;

That's got to be one of the meanest things I've ever done to Mikey

I can hardly forgive myself


	4. Chapter 3

It looks like this whole part is going to be in Donnie's POV…lol

Hope everyone likes that. ^^:

* * *

Chapter 3:

( _Donnie's POV_ )

"Donatello?" A voice asked as I started to come around, "Donatello, can you hear me?"

"Yes," I answered groggily as I opened my eyes, half expecting to see Olcadan again, but was admittedly relieved when it turned out to be someone else.

" _Father_ ," I called happily as I threw my arms around him in a hug.

"It is alright, my son," Splinter soothed, gently rubbing my shell like he had when we were young, "You are safe," He added, causing me to pull back and look around for Mikey and Zira, only to discover they were both asleep in the beds next to mine.

"What happened?"

"You were _captured_. Casey's men spotted you in Hell's Kitchen; they believed you to still be under Shredder's control, so they knocked you out and brought you here,"

"Oh," I stated simply as I looked up to find Casey and April standing off to the side as well.

"Yeah, sorry about that," The man offered with a sheepish little smile which I returned.

"It's okay, I'm just glad you weren't Shredder," I admitted with a hollow laugh and he nodded in understanding as April moved over to sit by me.

"How are you feeling?" She asked reaching out to feel my forehead.

"Weak," I informed her mutely, before explaining again what had happened to me while under the Barron's supervision, "How's Mikey?" I added afterwards, looking over at him again as he remained curled up on his bed.

"We found the brain worm," A new voice suddenly put in and looked up to find _Leatherhead_ walking into the room, and Jordon as well.

"The creature seemed to be in a state of _shock_ , which allowed us to remove it safely. He's in no danger," The human added kindly.

"Thank you," I offered and he nodded with a smile.

"However, he has been muttering deliriously about you almost none stop," The alligator proclaimed worriedly, "He continues to beg you not to _leave him_."

"I know," I answered as I stubbornly pulled myself out of the bed, so I could go to him again, "I did what I had to," I told them sternly as I pulled him into my arms, "I'd appreciate it if everyone would stop _reminding_ me," I added absentmindedly.

"Of course, I apologize," Leatherhead offered quickly and I realized I had said that last part _out loud_.

"I'm sorry, Leatherhead," I added quickly, "I didn't mean to –"

"It's perfectly alright," He interrupted kindly, "You have been through a lot these last few weeks; I would _expect_ you to be on the defense," This caused me to quickly look up at him in shock.

" _Weeks_?" I repeated causing Splinter to sit next to me again and lay a hand on my shoulder.

"My son, you and your brothers have been prisoners of the Shredder for nearly _three weeks_ ," He explained kindly leaving me to look at the ground in understanding.

"That explains why everyone's here," I commented tiredly and he nodded.

"You should rest; your body and mind have endured much," My father added after a minute as he helped me to lie down again, "Sleep my son, we will discuss our plans later," He offered and I nodded in agreement, before giving into the request and lost consciousness once again.

…

The next day

"Donatello?" My father's voice called to me as I sat on Mikey's bed playing a game of cards with him, but my heart wasn't really in it as I was more or less using it as a way to come up with a plan to find our other two brothers, but I still had _no idea_ where to even start searching.

"Yes," I answered looking up at him as he stood in the doorway.

"Will you speak with me please?" He asked kindly, leaving me to quickly look at Mikey, who smiled.

Thankfully for me, he seemed to completely understand that what I had said before was nothing but _lies_ to free him and instead of being angry or sad, he was almost _tickled_ to think that I would have done something so against my nature just to get him back.

"It's okay," He offered me quickly, "I can play with Zira," He added, before turning to said woman who was currently reading a book on her own bed, "Hey, come over here and let me beat you at Go-Fish," He insisted happily, causing her to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Go-what?" She asked, leaving him floored into silence for half a second before his none-stop string of words started again.

"Go-what, _go-what_?" He repeated in disbelief as he quickly made to reshuffle the cards, "It's official, you are now about to learn the _wonders_ of Go-Fish. Now, get over here," He ordered around his smile leaving me to laugh a little as I got up to allow her to take my place.

Clearly what she wanted more than anything was just to keep him happy, and so was willing to go along with his demands. Even if she was fully aware that the _rules_ he was informing her of were nothing close to the actual rules of the game.

"What is it?" I asked once I closed the door behind me and turned to face Splinter again. But, instead of answering me, he just calmly laid his arm over my shoulders and led me down the hall to a room he had set up for us.

"The connections between your mind and your body are weak and _detached_ ," He explained softly, but seriously and I nodded in agreement, "We must correct them before permanent damage is done," He added before quietly motioning for me to lie in the circle of candles, which I did.

In a matter of minutes; he had prepared himself for the repairing and carefully placed his hands over my body, allowing me to grow more comfortable as I gave all of my trust to him.

"What is this _presence_ , my son?" He asked some time later and I opened my eyes to find him still in his meditative trance, but was currently focused on my right hand where the soul chain was.

"That's a long story, but it's okay," I told him and he nodded, before moving on, having only needed to learn that it wasn't a threat.

"You spirit is _restless_ ," He added again and I closed my eyes as I came to understand what he was referring to.

"I – I have a _confession_ ," I told him, causing him to pause in his work, "I – I took a _life_ – father – _my own_ ," I admitted solemnly, leaving him to lay a comforting hand on my arm, "Will I be _exiled_?" I asked nervously, struggling to contain my fear.

"No, my son, you did what you had to escape," He informed me gently and I released a breath as I closed my eyes again and leaned back into the pillow under my head, "Calm yourself, all is well," He added quietly, taking my hand and softly rubbed his over it to still my shaking.

"I couldn't stay there anymore," I told him as I felt tears start to fall down my face, "It was too much – I was so _alone_."

"It is alright," Splinter said again as he gently maneuvered me into a sitting position so he could hug me while my body continued to shake uncontrollably in response to the healing, until finally I felt everything return to normal as the connections in my mind were reinstated.

Finally, I could feel my strength beginning to return and my emotions come back under my control as I leaned into my father's comforting embrace for several minutes more until I could open my eyes again and take a deep breath.

"How do you feel?" He asked me kindly and I nodded as I took another breath.

"Better," I finally answered, though I was still shaking slightly in response to the energy that were still passing through my open chakra points.

"Is your mind at peace?" He asked next, requesting to know if there was anything _else_ I wished to confide in him.

"It felt like _years_ ," I admitted, causing him to look at me, "Inside that computer; on the shores of my subconscious," I explained and he nodded, knowing full well what I meant, for the deeper one delved into the mind the _longer_ time seemed to become.

If I had indeed been trapped inside the Barron's mental prison for _three weeks_ , it was very possible that many _years_ had passed in my mind.

Though I wasn't yet able to determine how many exactly, for when I awoke it became nothing more than a dream, eventually I would learn the truth and admittedly – it _scared_ me to think how long I had truly been alone down there.

"Master Splinter?" A new voice asked then and we turned to find April cautiously opening the door to see if we were ready, which left me to look up at the clock and determine that nearly an hour had passed during the repair.

"It is alright April, I am finished," Splinter told her kindly, causing her to step in a little farther.

"Casey's people reported movement in Hell's Kitchen. There's a small group of Shredder's men approaching the city," She finally spoke up, causing me to look at her in shock.

When had Shredder become so active? Was this because of our capture, did he know Mikey and I had escaped?

"Have the gate guards been alerted?" Splinter asked calmly.

"Yes – but –" She started again nervously, "That's not all."

"What is it?" My father added as we took notice of her stiff posture.

"The army – it's –" She began, but was forced to swallow before continuing, "It's being led by – by _Raph_."

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	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

( _Donnie's POV_ )

It took no less than 20 minutes for Mikey, Splinter and I to make it to the city gate were a large group was preparing to attack anyone that tried to get inside, and not only that, but from what I could see, they had some pretty _scary_ hardware to do it with.

"Officer Frank," I called as we neared the front, where I could see the man who had arrested us when we first arrived in the city.

"Oh, not you again," The man complained before walking away, but I quickly rounded him to stop his retreat, "If you haven't noticed we're _busy_ ," He growled at me sternly.

"I have noticed that actually," I informed him as Splinter and Mikey joined me, "But I need to you hold off, the person leading that army is my brother."

"Really?" He asked in a tone of voice that told me he already knew that.

"Please sir, he's being controlled," Mikey added desperately, causing the guy to face him next.

"It that right? Oh, what a shame," He proclaimed with fake sympathy, "You know if I had just kept you four contained in the _first place_ , none of this would have _happened_ ," He yelled loudly.

"Yeah – maybe," Mikey agreed with a nervous little smile.

"Sir," I put in then, walking closer to speak face to face with the man, "I understand your distrust, I do, but if we can reach him, I –"

"And let you _join forces_ , no thank you," He interrupted seriously, causing me to narrow my eyes at him as he pushed his luck just a bit too far.

"Officer – I am _not_ asking for your _permission_ ," I informed him seriously, "We _are_ going to get our brother back, whether you're with us or not. I'm just giving you a heads-up so your men don't get _hurt_."

"Is that a threat?" He growled at me bravely. I really had to hand it to the guy – he had guts.

"If it _has_ to be," I informed him, making sure to keep eye contact as we stared each other down for several moments until he finally sighed.

"Fine, you got _15 minutes_ ," He proclaimed sourly. "You don't stop that army by then, I'm _leveling_ in the place."

"Thank you," I offered quickly, turning back to Mikey as he stepped up to go with me. "Father," I added looking toward Splinter and he nodded in understanding.

"I will help where I can _here_ ," He told me sternly, "Go, save your brother," He added and Mikey and I promptly bowed to him in response before rushing though the open gate and into Hell's Kitchen.

…

"So what exactly are we going to do if when we _find_ him?" Mikey asked as we made our way through the trees in an attempt to circle around to where one of Casey's men had spotted Raph.

"Free him, the same way I freed you," I informed him quietly.

"What if they fixed the worms?" He countered.

"I don't think they're even _aware_ that we've escaped yet, Mike. And, according to Casey; Raph's been out here for _days_. They just haven't been able to get close enough to catch him."

"I hope he's okay," He added with concern and I quickly informed him that everything would be fine, however that was _before_ we ran into a bit of a road block, in the form of rather large and very deep _river_.

"Where did that come from?" Mikey proclaimed in shock as we took in the high concrete walls on both sides that were going to make scaling it rather difficult.

"Come on." I called as I quietly led the way further into the trees in the hopes of finding a way to cross.

"Well that looks – safe," My brother declared sarcastically when we located a _bridge_ which took the form of a large tree root which had grown over the top the road.

"Do you think it's Raph," Mikey asked; as I carefully leaned forward to test the bridge, discovering that it was no _ordinary_ root.

"Yeah," I answered quietly as our instincts screamed at us that something was not kosher here, but we didn't have much choice, we were running out of time, "You ready?" I asked and he nodded in complete understanding of what I meant.

Though this was barely my first real opportunity as _leader_ , our teamwork was still perfectly in sync, and though he may have chosen to forgo it, he was still a full-fledged second-in-command. No matter how unpredictable the circumstances, we could face them.

And so we carefully started making our way across the bridge, even though we were fully aware that it was a _trap_ , and we were not disappointed, for when we reached the middle of the root, movement from all around quickly alerted us to the fact that what we were walking on was very much _alive_.

"Oh shit, that's big," Mikey complained truthfully as the snakeweed rose up to see what pray had fallen into its trap.

"Damn it," I agreed, as I got a better look and realized it _wasn't_ the weed-mutant I had been expecting, but it's much _larger_ and more _violent_ cousin; the _creep-weed_.

" _Jump_!" I ordered as it charged us and we didn't waste a moment pushing away from the weed's grip to drop into the rushing water below where we had more of an advantage.

However, though the last second action did help us to avoid being eaten, the _current_ soon proved simply too strong for us to fight and it wasn't long before we were helplessly washed down the river and deeper into the trap.

…

"Mikey, you okay?" I called to my brother when we could finally surface again after surviving not one but _two_ waterfalls only to find ourselves in a giant _bowl_.

"Yeah, I think so," He answered as we reached out to hold onto the walls, but they were slick with algae; that left us with no leverage to get out.

I was aware that this was yet another mechanism used by the creep-weed to catch it's pray, as the plant mutant was quite a bit _smarter_ than its smaller cousin. It would now likely take its time to get here, allowing the trap to completely exhaust us before coming in to collect its dinner.

"Well, look what I caught," A voice called suddenly and we looked up to find the pond surrounded by _ninja_ , and at their head was –

" _Raph_?" Mikey asked excitedly, only to frown when he realized that it may have been our brother's _body_ , but it certainly wasn't his _mind_ , "Hey, bro," He added nervously, causing Raph to just narrow his eyes at us before turning to start issuing orders to his troops.

"What are they gonna do?" Mike whispered in my direction as we watched the exchange, trying to figure out what they were saying, but they were too far away.

"Classic _mouse trap_ ," I proclaimed quietly as I looked around again in an attempt to find a way out of our predicament, as well as learn what _else_ was down here besides water.

"We're not _mice_ ," Mikey pointed out unnecessarily.

"It's a figure of speech," I informed him, "A long time ago people used a bucket and a stick as a mouse trap. They would put a piece of food on the stick, drawing the mouse in and causing it to fall into the water. Eventually it would _drown_ ," I explained distractedly as I tired to get a better look at the bottom of the pond, but it was pitch black.

"But – we're not _mice_ – right," He repeated nervously, leaving me to look at him sympathetically.

"We may not _drown_ ,but once that creep-weed gets here, it's not gonna matter," I proclaimed causing him to pout, "But I got an idea," I added swimming over to whisper something in his ear.

"And that's gonna – _help_?" He asked in response.

"To be honest, I'm kinda working this out as I go along," I admitted with a smile, which he returned – kind of.

"You think that's what Leo does too?" He asked curiously and I shrugged.

"If he does, he'd never _admit it_ ," I muttered truthfully, causing him to make a face that clearly said 'True,' before moving to bring his nunchucks into his hand, releasing both of them into their chain-scythe forms as I kept an eye on Raph, praying that he wouldn't leave before Mikey was ready.

"Okay," He told me after another minute and I nodded before moving over to let him brace himself against my back so he could take aim and started whipping the connected form of his two weapons around like a huge lasso before finally letting it fly just as our enemy became aware that we were up to something.

This left Raph in just the right position to be captured in the loop at the end.

"Oh yeah, sign me up for the rodeo," Mikey crowed as I moved around to grab the chain myself.

"Pull," I called quickly, and using the wall to brace ourselves as we did just that. Pulling with everything we had; knowing our brother had been taken off guard and would need a second to activate his full strength.

If we could out muscle him within that small window of time, we could pull him into the pond. If not, then he would likely pull us _out_ , either way we could move on with the second part of my plan.

Thankfully, the goons around him didn't seem to be programmed to do anything without their leader, so they didn't even attempt to help him as we finally managed to pluck him from his high perch and watched as he fell nearly 2 stories.

"Ow, that had to hurt," Mikey winced as our brother hit the water, but we weren't able to pity him as we quickly took out our weapons and tackled; in an attempt to control him before he found his strength.

In a way the trap had worked in our favor, for, in the water, his power was nearly cut in half, so together Mikey and I could actually take him. However, that wasn't to say he didn't put up a fight.

"Come on, you selfish bastard, _break free_ ," I insulted sternly as we surfaced again allowing me to put the other half of the plan into motion; causing him to bore down on my staff which nearly forced me under the water until Mikey jumped on his back.

"What's this, Raph, you actually _like_ working for Shredder," Mikey added as he danced ridiculously on his back, forcing our brother to retaliate again as his temper clearly started to rise.

"Lackey," I called next as Mikey dove into the water to avoid him and Raph immediately rounded on me with eyes as white as paper, "Pawn," I added with a smile, leaving him to growl at me as I pushed one last button, " _Puppet_."

"Damnit, Donnie," He suddenly swore as he brawled into me, trapping me against the wall where he threatened to punch me, "I swear if ya don't _shut up_ , I'm gonna – oh shit," He added abruptly, before appearing as though he was about to throw up.

This allowed me to quickly tackle him myself and force his mouth open as I poured the contents of a little bottle down his throat to _kill_ the worm before it could take him over again.

"Get off!" He grumbled as he pushed me away again, but not so hard that I felt that he wasn't in control as he made a face full of clear disgust.

"Sorry, I didn't have enough time to work on the _taste_ ," I apologized, rubbing a spot on my plastron where he'd gotten in a lucky hit.

"No, no, that's okay, I probably _deserved_ it," He muttered sourly as Mikey swam over to hug him with a smile plastered across half his face, clearly he had enjoyed insulting our brother just a little _too_ much.

"Did ya just call me a _selfish bastard_?" Raph counted suddenly, quickly turning to point an accusing finger in my direction.

"No," I said in such a way that made me look as if I didn't know what he was talking about, leaving him to raise a questionable eye-ridge before Mikey brought our attention to something else.

"Uh, guys," He said, motioning toward the ninja; who were still watching us from all directions. Though they clearly didn't have any intention of attacking, it didn't appear that they were going to _help_ us either.

"Hey," Raph called up seriously, causing them to move as if to accept his orders. "Throw me a rope," He commanded and one of them quickly went about doing just that, allowing us to finally escape the mouse trap.

"See, I told you it would work," I told Mikey as we reached the top.

"Yeah, right," He muttered disbelievingly, "What about the weed monster?" He added, which was suddenly answered with the loud _roar_ of a creature that was clearly not happy with the loss of its breakfast.

"Maybe this is a bad time ta point this out –" Raph began as we listened to the weed charging through the forest nearby to attack again, "But I don't have any _control_ over that one."

"Not a problem," I answered simply, before rushing over to intercept the large glowing head that had zeroed in on us, despite my brother's complaint.

Now that we had found Raph, there was no need to hide my secret weapon, and so I quickly got the creature's attention, in order to inform it of a few things via a long lost language that I was admittedly not too skill with, but it was enough to earn a loud growl from the creep-weed, before it angrily stormed away again – thankfully, without eating us.

"What?" Raph asked in shock as Mikey's jaw hit the ground.

"I studied with Olcadan for _5 years_ , did you really think I wouldn't know how to handle a giant _plant_?" I asked sourly, causing them both to just stare at me in shock and I sighed before looking around at the ninja; who were all standing around waiting for Raph's next word, "Now – what are we gonna do about _them_?"

"What?" Raph asked again as he took in the men as well, clearly having forgotten that they were there for a minute.

"Frank's threatened to level this place if they stay here," I proclaimed, looking back toward the entry, before checking my watch to find that we were swiftly running out of time, "I'd be the first to say how much they probably _deserve_ it, but that doesn't mean we can just let it happen," I admitted sternly.

"Right – hang on," Raph proclaimed thoughtfully before walked over to the group again, "At attention," He ordered, causing them all to stand up straight, "Abandon all weapons," He added sternly and they immediately drop their guns as well as anything else that might be considered a weapon.

"Raise your hands," Raph ordered now and they all obeyed once again without question as my brother turned to point toward the entry portal where the city's protectors were still waiting, "Now – _march_!"He added and they promptly proceed through the forest ahead of us.

…

"Whoa!" I called out when we reached the entrance, only to find a whole line of people pointing their guns as us, "Easy, they're not going to attack," I informed them as Raph turned back to his troops.

" _Surrender_ ," He ordered, causing them all to fall to their knees with their hands on their heads as Raph scoffed and walked away, leaving his army lost and motionless without their captain.

…

"Father?" Raph said in shock once Mikey and I had led him through the ally troops to Splinter's location, leaving the rat to quickly walk up to hug our previously missing sibling.

"My son, it is good to see you are safe," He spoke genuinely as I walked up to Officer Frank who had folded his arms in a huff to regard me with a stern expression.

"25 minutes," I told him as I looked at my watch again, "You _waited_?"

"Meh," He mumbled dismissively and I smiled.

"Thank you," I offered him respectfully, causing him to finally look at me.

"I owed you," He stated, suddenly leaving me to narrow my eyes in confusion, "You helped my _sons_ , Tyler and Falcon," He explained and I smiled again. Now that he mentioned it I could certainly see the resemblance, "But that doesn't mean I _trust_ you," He added sternly and I nodded in agreement.

After all we had developed a – _complicated_ relationship, who were we to mess with what worked?

"So, where's Leo?" Raph suddenly asked, causing me to stop breathing for a second before looking back at him sadly, leaving him to sigh in understanding, "Ya haven't freed him yet?" He answered himself solemnly.

"We don't even know where he _is_ ," Mikey admitted sadly.

"I do," Raph put in and we all looked at him in shock as he turned his eyes to the ground, clearly not happy about what he was about to say, "He's Shredder's _Second-in-Command._ "

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	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

(3rd:)

"Raph!" A voice proclaimed excitedly when they arrived back at Casey's base, leaving the turtles to look up as none other than _Mona Lisa_ , herself, ran up to take Raph to the floor in an embrace.

"Lisa?" He asked as his brothers laughed at his shocked expression, "What are ya doin' here?"

"She wanted to come," Splinter answered, displaying a clear smile in response to his son's position.

"And look who I brought," She piped in as she jumped back to her feet to retrieve something from the beach where she'd been waiting for them.

" _Spike_ ," Raph proclaimed excitedly, rushing to see his beloved pet for the first time in too long, "Hey, little buddy," He coed softly as he took a small turtle into his hands.

"Are you _sure_ he's not still being controlled?" Mikey whispered into Donnie's ear, making his brother grin.

"And I brought someone for _you too_ , Mikey," Lisa added sassily, motioning back toward the bench where a small animal carrier was still waiting, which caused Mikey's eyes to bulge to the size of half dollars.

"No," He proclaimed, before running over to look inside, " _Klunk_!" He cried with happiness, moving to open the carrier and hug his little friend.

"So, where's Leo?" Lisa asked with a smile, looking around them toward the door as if expecting him to walk in any second, which understandably caused the room to go quiet.

"He'll be here soon," Donnie finally answered, though she was well aware by this point that something was very wrong, clearly no one had told her of the circumstances, "I need to work on something," He added quietly, before moving down the hall, leaving Raph to gently place his arm around the female mutant.

"Come on," He offered kindly, leading her toward a room so they could talk, "We'll fill ya in."

…

"I don't believe this," Lisa proclaimed once they had finished explained the situation, before whacking Mikey angrily, "Why didn't anyone tell me this was happening?" She demanded sternly.

"I didn't know you were _here_ ," He countered quickly, "And why does everyone always hit _me_?" He whined, earning another of said motions from Raph this time, who promptly smiled at his little brother, clearly enjoying himself.

"My sons, sense the subject has been breached, what plans do you have to locate your brother?" Splinter asked then, bringing everyone back down to earth.

"We don't know," Mikey answered solemnly.

"Well, you know how to _free him_ now," Lisa put in truthfully.

"Yeah, but – we still need ta _find_ him," Raph countered, causing her to look at the ground as she remembered that little detail, "I can't even _sense_ him," He admitted sadly. "He's probably wearing one a those _suits_ ," He explained, motioning toward the suit he himself had been wearing until he'd been able to remove it mere moments ago.

"Perhaps Donatello has a plan?" Splinter announced, which was a good possibility, considering how quickly he had gone off on his own, "Perhaps you should see if he needs your assistance?" He added, causing the two turtles to nod in agreement before getting up to find their brother.

However, as they walked through the doorway of the room that Donnie had been using to gather information, all they found was Zira looking curiously at his computer.

"Where's Donnie?" Raph asked, causing her to look up at him.

"I just got here," She told him, before looking back at something on the screen which caused the other two to quickly walk over to see it for themselves; only to find a _message_.

 _I found him_.

"Shit," Raph swore, before sitting at the desk in an attempt to get more information from the computer, but he wasn't the wizard Donnie was and the thing promptly refused him, "Damnit," He yelled; pounding his fists into the desk angrily, causing Splinter to rush into the room.

"What is wrong?" He demanded sternly.

"It's Donnie," Raph told him as he got up to leave again, "He found Leo, but he went after him _alone_."

…

( _Donnie's POV_ )

I stood quietly with my eyes closed, preparing myself for what was about to happen as I awaited Leo's arrival. Sending a message to Shredder from the equipment Raph had had on him was simple enough, as, in the end, I'd just decided that tracking Leo down would take too much time and so I'd have him _come to me_.

Convincing Shred-head that his army had been defeated wasn't too difficult, however finding and _reprogramming_ Leo was a bit trickier and admittedly left me with a slimy taste in my mouth. But my new-found ability allowed me to manage it in the end and even at a much _faster_ rate.

At this point it would take a while for Raph and the others to discover what I had done and follow, which would hopefully give me enough time to free Leo before they got here, which was how I found myself on a roof top somewhere around where we had found Raph, watching a slight shadow move closer to my location, until finally Leo was standing on the other end of the roof.

"Hey, bro," I greeted him quietly as he calmly took me in; clearly trying to figure out what was going on, for according to his programming, _Raph_ was supposed to be the one waiting for him.

It didn't take but another second of him to seemingly come to the conclusion that I had tricked him and so began to walk closer, unsheathing his swords in the process as he prepared for our fight.

Like the rest of us he had been decked out in a black suit so it was impossible to sense him, but those swords were all the proof I needed to know it was really him. Why Shredder had decided to let us _keep_ our weapons was beyond me, though it was likely because he saw the potential in allowing us to continue welding tools we knew so well.

"Leo, you don't want to do this," I told my brother, but my words were clearly not heard, for he promptly charged me and I was forced to bring my staff out to block his weapon as he went for a killing blow.

"Leo, you can _fight_ this, you did it before," I growled at him as we got up close and personal, but I soon had to pull away again to avoid another attack, "Please, don't make me do this," I begged quietly, but the fact that he wasn't even _talking_ proved that he was under a much stronger control than either Mikey or Raph.

Neither one of them had been programmed to out right attack like this. Mikey was just a messenger and Raph seemed to be more on the defensive, fighting only when someone attacked him first. But Leo was clearly influenced differently. He's main purpose was to do Shredder's bidding and he would take out anyone that got in his way.

"Leo –" I tired again as he forced me back with several strikes that made my bones ache as I blocked them. He may not have had the shear strength that Raph did, but his intense training made him just as dangerous.

'You tried,' A voice in my head declared after a few minutes and I sadly had to admit that it was right, and so I quietly made some distance between us so I could instigate my next plan.

Leo wasn't like the rest of us, he didn't _allow_ his emotions to surface and nothing I did was going to change that, so there was only _one_ thing I could do to draw him out.

"Leonardo," I said sternly, causing him to look at me again, clearly curious to see what I had in store, but I doubt even he was prepared for my next words, "I _strip you_ of your _command_."

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	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

( _Donnie's POV_ )

I honestly thought I might have reason to _hope_ as I watched my brother react to what I'd said, by just standing there watching me as if he couldn't comprehend my words. But then he attacked again and I realized I would have to follow through with my threat after all.

So, with a single motion I slid under his charge, forced my legs up into his plastron and kicked with everything I had, sending him flying as I righted myself again and threw a shuriken before he could land and avoid it.

I had to struggle with my instincts to go to his side as he screamed in pain due to the blade sinking its small teeth into an old wound; an injury obtained from a training exercise when we were kids. He had dislocated his knee and we'd been unable to get him back home before the nano-bots had _healed_ it, forcing us to break the bone in order to set it correctly.

Though it didn't cause him pain anymore, there was a certain spot that, when _hit_ , brought him to his knees. This was why I had left Raph and Mikey behind, _I_ had been the one training with Leo to be his second and he'd made sure I _knew_ his _week points_ , so that if I ever needed to – I could _take him down_.

Quietly retrieving his fallen sword; my brother slowly got back to his feet and turned to look at me, before gathering the strength in his legs and charged again. It seemed I had hit a nerve; for this time his attacks were fierce and coordinated as he forced me back until only thin air lay under my feet, leaving him to quickly strike across my shoulders as I tried to right myself and get back onto the roof.

Though I was able to turn at the last second and shield against the attack with my shell; the force still sent me flying into a wall where I lost my staff in the process of breaking the impact.

This in turn forced me to quickly grab the bricks over my head and flip backwards onto the top of the raised doorway before Leo could plunge his sword through my chest.

"You are not _fit_ to lead this team," I told him angrily as he pulled his weapon free and glared at me through his helmet, but jumping up to continue his attack. But I quickly fell back to the lower roof, rolling onto all fours as I picked up a loose board and swung it with everything I had as he descended after me; causing the wood to shatter upon impact with his shoulder when he too tried to shield against it like I had.

Unfortunately for him, that particular side of his shell was _missing_ , taken from him in an abnormally large shark attack sometime in our previous life, which caused him to flinch just enough that the rest of my attack made contact with his helmet, sending the thing flying off to one side of the roof.

"You have _endangered_ our team," I added sternly causing him to strike out with his sword in a laughably sloppy attempt to force me back, "I cannot and _will not_ allow you to _lead_ us," I proclaimed loudly and I could tell my words had actually _reached_ him this time as he actually hesitated in the act of getting back on his feet.

Unfortunately, the shear level of his control still demanded he attack; however, this time I stood my ground and didn't move as the tip of his sword was aimed directly at my throat.

But as he came within inches of taking my life, everything _stopped_ as my words finally hit home, driving in the fact that he had been stripped of his command, not only spiritually, but _physically_ and to him that could mean only one thing – one thing he could _never do_.

"You've _failed_ our _family_."

The sound of his sword hitting the concrete was almost deafening as he unconsciously dropped the weapon in response to me reaching out to grab the back of his suit to keep him from backing away when his body suddenly began to convulse in an attempt to fight off the control and rid itself of the worm.

But I didn't allow him to get away from me and instead pulled him into an awkward hug. "I'm sorry," I whispered in his ear before delivering the strongest punch I was capable of straight to his stomach, which finally forced the bug out through his mouth where I promptly squashed the wretched little thing.

"Leo," I begged when he suddenly crumpled in my arms, which forced me to my knees, "Hey," I stated worriedly as I attempted to turn him around so I could be sure he was still with me.

"I'm okay," He answered shakily after taking in several deep breaths, clearly in a lot of discomfort; but despite that I couldn't help but relish in how _good_ in felt to finally hear his voice again.

"Donnie!" A new voice cut in and we looked around to find Raph, Mikey, Splinter and Zira arriving on the scene – just in time.

"Leo!" Mikey promptly acknowledged; running up to give our previously missing brother a hug, which left Raph in a somewhat startled state of shock as he watched the exchange for a second before walking forward as well.

"How's it goin' – _brother_?" He asked, clearly struggling to hold in his emotions.

"Better now," Leo admitted, which seemed to crumble Raph's wall of stubbornness, for he suddenly fell to his knees and gave him one of the biggest hugs I'd ever seen him bestow on anyone.

"My son," Splinter said upon his own arrival, leaving Leo to bow respectfully to him, but our father was having none of that; for he promptly brought us all into his arms and held us close as he spoke around his tears, "You are _home_ my sons, you are _home_."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

( _3_ _rd_ :)

"Now that you are all safe," Splinter started as they quietly made their way back through the forest toward the city entrance, "Perhaps you could introduce me to your _friend_ ," He finished clearly indicating Zira.

This promptly caused all four the turtles to _panic_ as they fought to cover her mouth before she could say what they all _knew_ she was about to, leaving Splinter to blink at them in question as they all smiled sheepishly, trying to pretend that that hadn't just happened.

"Zira," Donnie whispered to the female alien nervously, still holding her mouth to insure she didn't say anything, "This is my _father_ ; therefore, I would very much appreciate it if you didn't give him a _heart attack_."

She just rolled his eyes at him as he finally released her and promptly folded her arms in a huff. "Men," She complained dramatically, but thankfully didn't say anything more.

"Donatello?" Splinter asked, causing the poor turtle to nearly jump out of his skin as he turned to face his father again.

"Hai, Sensei," He acknowledged quickly, far too quickly for the old rat to not realize that something was certainly up, not that he didn't know already.

"Is there something I should know?" He finally requested, looking at them all again as he placed his hands behind his back in that way of his that told them that they had better start talking.

"You know, you're _exactly_ how I pictured you," Zira put in, causing the brothers to freeze, which left their father to look at her again.

"You've been told a lot about me have you?" He asked kindly and she shrugged.

"Donnie mentioned you a few times," She admitted, causing him to raise an eyebrow at her.

" _Only_ Donatello?" He proclaimed in question before looking back at his sons, "And why is it that only _he_ has said these things?"

"Because he was –" She started again only for the turtles to turn on her.

"ZIRA!" They all demanded loudly, causing her to laugh, clearly enjoying herself.

"Well, then _tell him_ ," She countered, causing the rat master to fold his arms in front of him this time.

"Tell me _what_ , my sons?" He ordered firmly.

"Well – um –" Donnie started again as he fidgeted slightly under his father's gaze. "She – you – maybe you should _sit down_ ," He finally suggested, leaving the older man to give them another look before turning to a fallen tree and did as he was asked; leaving his sons with no further excuse and so they began to tell him everything that had happened since their departure from Japan.

…

When they were finally finished the brothers were honestly worried that maybe Splinter _was_ going to have a heart attack after all, as the old rat just continued to watch them for a moment in shock.

However, the moment passed relatively quickly when he finally turned to Zira again and stood up in order to walk over to her.

"It would seem that a 'welcome to our family' is in order," He finally proclaimed, offering his hand to her, causing her to quietly lay hers in it, allowing him to bow respectfully to her.

"Yep, you're their father all right," She acknowledged around a smile which he returned, "But, you couldn't work on Red's anger issues a _bit_ more?" She added, causing him to laugh.

"Young lady, even _I_ can not perform _miracles_ ," He proclaimed, "However, I have found that just _ignoring him_ is often the best course of action," He suggested, leaving the brothers in shock while they watched the two causally walk away during the continued conversation, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Did that – _really –_ just happen?" Raph asked in disbelief.

"Dude, she turned – _Splinter_ – against us," Mikey added worriedly.

"Yes, she did," Donnie acknowledged, causing them all to look at him sourly and Leo to promptly laid down the law.

"You are to _never_ leave our sight _again_."

…

"Guys," Mikey said nervously as they finally reached the base, only to find Zira engaged in a conversation with _Lisa_ this time, "They're _joining forces_ ," He proclaimed in fear, rushing to hide behind Leo for cover, "No one is _safe_ ," He cried dramatically, earning a smack from Raph for the theatrics.

"My sons," Splinter interrupted and they all quickly turned to him again, only to notice the _other_ occupant of the room, "You have a _guest_ ," Their father finished as the man smiled smugly at their shock.

"This is getting old, _Bishop_ ," Leo greeted sourly.

"It would seem we have a communication problem; I was only informed of your capture the day before last. I've been trying to locate you ever since," He informed them mutely, "But, for once, I'm _glad_ to see I'm not needed," He added, causing the turtles to look at each other as they realized there was genuine _concern_ in his voice.

"That and ya were probably hopin' we had some _enemy information_ for ya," Raph proclaimed as he folded his arms, "Am I right?"

"I would be lying if I said 'no'," Bishop admitted with a smile as he steepled his fingers.

"Yeah, well ya can just go ta –" Raph stated again only for Donnie to stop his comment with a hand on his shoulder.

"Bishop," Leo started again as he walked up with a serious expression causing the man's smile to disappear, "We have a window of opportunity to take both Shredder and the Barron off guard," He continued sternly, "But we're gonna need all the help we can get."

This bold assortment left the man in a bought of short silence, as he considered that, before calmly getting to his feet to be at eye level with the turtle as they talked.

"Consider me at your disposal."

…

"This seems kind of risky," Bishop admitted as he watched Donnie work at his computer, "I want to stop these two as much as anyone, but we don't have the man power to take them both on at the _same time_."

"Yes, we do," Leo countered causing the man to look at him, "Shredder's troops are going to be too busy trying to find _us_ by now, which means his fortress is going to be undermanned. We can take him down, but we need another team to take on the Barron."

"The Barron has been here for _years_ , Leonardo, do you even realize how many _people_ he has under his control by now."

"That's why we have to take him out _now_ ," Zira put in, "He's got _hundreds_ of my people enslaved up there, if he managed to prepare an attack we would loose before we even began."

"That's why we have to get him while he's not expecting it," Donnie spoke up as Zira leaned down to watch him point some things out to her and she nodded in understanding, "If this program I have works, we can take out most if not _all_ of the Barron's army and probably most of Shredder's as well."

" _If_?" Bishop repeated skeptically.

"It has to be uploaded _directly_ into the Barron's mainframe. _Zira_ can do it, but I need someone to _protect_ her," Donnie added sternly, causing the man to frown as he realized that ' _someone'_ was _him_.

"Then I will lend my strength as well," Splinter suddenly spoke up as he stepped forward, "Between Bishop and I, we should be more than enough to ensure our side of the plan goes well."

"Bishop and Splinter – _together_?" Mikey muttered quietly, "That's a scary thought."

"Very well," Bishop finally relented as he turned back to look at Donnie's computer again, trying to follow what was being done, but even he couldn't keep up with the turtle's coordinated movement.

"What about the four of you?" He added. "Even undermanned, Shredder's gonna have _army_ of ninja at his base."

"Well, lucky for us, we got an army _too_ ,"Raph muttered with a smile, just before the door to the room opened and in entered Casey Jones, decked out in all manner of crazy street armor.

"We're _ready_."


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

(3rd:)

"Always knew you four were destined for greatness," Joe, the semi-truck driver from their childhood, proclaimed around his smile as he drove his truck straight through Hell's Kitchen in the direction Leo informed him Shredder's _secret_ New York base was located.

"We missed you too, Joe," Mikey announced with a grin.

"Sensei, are you in position?" Leo asked his headset distractedly, while he and his brothers made an effort to stay out of sight in the sleeper interior of the cockpit as they got closer and closer to their target.

"I believe we have found the _doorway_ you mentioned," Splinter answered, before describing the portal deep in the sewers that the turtles had used before to reach the Barron.

"Good, it sounds like it's still active," Donnie put in then, "Once you go through we won't be able to talk again until you reach the control panel, we'll synchronize the attack as soon as I find Shredder's main computer," He added, which Splinter acknowledged.

"Good luck, father," Leo added respectfully.

"And you as well my sons. Be safe," He answered calmly before the line went dead as Splinter and his team entered the portal that would take them to the Barron's base.

"They'll be fine," Raph announced insistently, as he reached out to put a hand on Leo's shoulder, which earned him a nod of agreement from his older brother before he turned to look out the window again.

"That's it," The blue-clad turtle proclaimed a minute later when they came up to a building he recognized from his control induced state as Shredder's base of operations.

"I was kind of expected something with – _spikes_ ," Joe admitted, looking up at the plain, old building curiously, "But if you say so," He declared smugly before ramming the truck into gear and picked up his microphone.

"Hold on ta somethin' back there," He informed the people who were crowded into the trailer behind them, before forcing the steering wheel in the direction of the building's main door and floored it.

The turtles could hear Casey's army in the back whooping ridiculously as they barreled forward and couldn't help smiling themselves as they braced for impact just before they hit the main door like some kind of man-made metal _meteor_.

Unfortunately, for the poor building; the truck had momentum and well constructed street armor on its side which allowed it to continue crashing through walls until it finally came to a stop in a random lobby where no one was too surprised to find an army of black clad _foot ninja_ descending on them from all directions.

But they had an army of their own; in the form of the armor-clad freedom fighters filing from the truck to charge into the fray with all manner of homemade weapons of mass-destruction at their disposal.

"Good luck," Joe informed the turtles with a grin, before pulling out a huge-as-life _shot gun_ , kicked his door open and entered the fight with a battle cry that would have made Vikings proud.

"Alright," Leo proclaimed a minute later as they waited for the enemy to become well _distracted_ before they moved silently from the truck to locate a stairwell that would take them to the upper levels.

…

The plan worked like a charm, with Shredder's limited troops distracted by the chaos going on in the lobby, and with the _black suits_ Shredder had been so kind as to provide them, the turtles were more or less invisible as they walked the halls unnoticed by the goons running about in all directions.

"Okay, where are we goin'?" Raph asked once they had managed to knock out a few guards and stole a few helmets so they could hide their faces as well.

"Looks like Casey's already set _two_ of the charges," Donnie announced as he checked his gantlet to discover a couple blinking beacons on his map, which indicated their friends were completing their side of the mission without a hitch, "If I have to guess, the computers should be – here," He added as he pointed out a place on the holographic map.

"I know where that is," Leo answered quietly as he studied the picture, before emitting a slight hiss, "But it's right below Shredder's thrown room."

" _Thrown room_?" Mikey repeated questionably, "The guy actually has a _thrown room_?"

"That's a bit – _much_ ," Donnie agreed mutely.

"All the more reason to knock his crown off," Leo commented as he walked out into the hall again, leaving his brothers to look at him strangely, "What?"

"Bro, I love you, but let's leave the jokes to people who actually _know_ how do them," Mikey suggested, earning a glare from his leader before they started making their way through the halls again in search of a staircase that would take them up.

…

"Anyone but me find this strangely – _uneventful_?" Mike asked as they climbed to the 72nd floor, where it was admittedly very _quiet_ compared to the rest of the building.

"Everyone's probably at the fight," Raph suggested before peaking around a corner only to quickly dart back, "Oh, ya gotta be _kiddin'_ me," He whispered sourly.

"What is it?" Leo demanded quietly.

"It's _Hun_ ," Raph growled at a wall like it was to blame.

" _What_?" His brothers all proclaimed in shock before moving to get a look for themselves, only to really find the large behemoth of a man who was leader of the Purple Dragons standing guard at a door down the hall.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Leo swore toward no one particular as he ducked back down to think up a way to get around him.

" _Personally_ , I've been lookin' _forward_ ta this," Raph admitted with a large grin as he cracked his knuckles in expectation of a fight, clearly ready to take revenge for what they had endured at the hands of the Purple Dragons when they were kids.

"No, Raph!" Leo insisted sternly, "We're already wearing our luck thin taking on _two_ armies. The last thing we need is to add a _third_."

"Actually Leo –" Donnie put in with a wince in his voice, "I don't think we have a _choice_."

"Why?" He responded with a tone that suggested he didn't want to know the answer.

"'Cause _that's_ the door we need to go through," Donnie answered anyway, pointing at the place where mammoth man had set up camp, causing his brother to face-palm.

"Figures," Mikey added sourly.

"Alright," Leo finally relented as he took one last look at the guard, before coming up with a plan, "Raph, you're with me, we should –"

"No," Donnie suddenly complained, which left them all slightly shocked. No one ever argued against Leo's orders in the middle of enemy territory before, "I need at least _one_ of you," He countered pointing between Leo and Raph.

"Why?" Leo asked, causing his smart brother to smile.

"I've got an idea," He stated, which left them to raise an eye-ridge, but knew better than to refute him.

"Alright," Leo gave in again, before looking back at Raph and Mikey, "Can you two handle Tiny?"

"Not a problem," Raph proclaimed as Mikey pouted, clearly not liking this plan, but went along with it anyway, as the two back-tracked through the hallways, until coming up on the other side of the one they needed.

A moment later the place was filled with _smoke_ , which caused Hun to take a step away from the door to look at it. However, he didn't move any further.

"Come on," Leo growled, " _Move_!"

"Guess he's smarter than he looks," Donnie added when the man continued to hold his ground, before suddenly turning to look in the opposite direction, forcing them to quickly duck behind the wall again.

"Crap!" Leo swore when they heard the giant start to walk in their direction, but before he became a nuisance, a shout suddenly rocked the area and the turtle looked back around to find Mikey had attached himself to the Hulk's back while Raph got up in his face.

"Go," Mikey called then and Donnie and Leo quickly bolted into the fray to navigate the fight and make for the door, leaving their brothers to handle the guard.

"What are we doing, Donnie?" Leo demanded as his brother rushed to the main computer and started working his magic, leaving Leo to keep looking at the door in desperation to be in that fight.

There was a _reason_ Raph was usually the one to watch Donnie's back when he worked, his protective nature forced him to stand his ground in a fight where Leo's made him want to take on the threat _before_ it got to his family.

"Alright," Donnie announced after barely a minute and called him over.

"That was – _fast_ ," Leo mentioned, more than a little impressed. True Donnie was a master when it came to computers, but he'd barely _touched_ the damn thing.

"Yeah –" His brother agreed nervously, but didn't continue as he brought up a camera in the lobby where _war_ was still going down and pulled a _microphone_ over so it sat in front of the other turtle.

It only took a second for Donnie's _idea_ to become clear at that moment and Leo smiled before picking up the speaker, cleared his throat and pressed the button on the side to broadcast his voice live across the whole building.

"Troops!" He commanded, watching the screens as Foot solders on all levels paused in their fighting to listen and he smiled again as he realized they were still programmed to _obey him_. "Stand down!" He added sternly, causing them all to quickly drop their weapons and surrender, allowing Casey and his men to rush in and detain them.

"Shred-Heads not gonna like that," Donnie proclaimed in a laugh as he started to shut down the rest of the building, so Shredder wouldn't be able to counter them with a command of his own, before finally getting a hold of Zira.

"Hello, Love," She said as her face appeared on the scene a second later.

"Put us on speaker," Donnie ordered causing her to raise an eyebrow at him but did as she was told. "Okay Leo, once more," He stated as he continued to work the computer until his brother could talk to _the Barron's_ troops this time around.

"You sure it'll work on them?" He asked skeptically.

"Not really, but it's worth a shot," Donnie admitted and Leo nodded before pressing the button on his microphone and sent another order to the other army.

"I think it worked," Zira stated in surprise as she looked back at something they couldn't see, just before Bishop appeared on the screen.

"Leonardo, order them to _leave the base_ ," He proclaimed and Leo quickly did just that, which seemed to cause the Barron's troops to immediately start walking.

"Alright Zira, I'm gonna shut down the rest of his base," Donnie announced and she nodded in understanding, "Get your people and get out of there. Call me as soon as you're clear."

"On it!" She agreed, before they rushed off to complete the rest of their mission, leaving the screen to shut down a minute later.

"Now what?" Leo asked as his brother continued to mess with Shredder's system, before it finally shut off as well, leaving Donnie to quietly pull a tiny machine from his bag, which he armed and stuck it up under the desk.

Checking his gantlet to insure the program within would be ready at a moment's notice; Donnie finally finished his task and stood up again to turn back to his brother with an answer.

"Now, we find Shredder."

* * *

Personally I never understood how Shredder managed to get so many people on his side. Yeah okay, there are some out there who would join up just for what he can offer, but, to me, it makes much more sense for his general army to either be manipulated, threatened or controlled.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

( _3_ _rd_ _:_ )

Upon exiting the computer room, Leo and Donnie quickly stopped in the tracks when they found the hall full of more than just their brothers and Hun. With the addition of April, Casey, several of his trusted friends, and even _Usagi_ to the fight, the mountain of a man didn't stand a chance.

"Usagi," Leo said with a grin and he walked up to his friend who smiled as he turned to bow to him.

"I'm glad to see you have broken free, my friend," The rabbit declared genuinely.

"Thank you for trying to help me," Leo stated as he remembered a distinct moment during his controlled weeks that the samurai had approached him in an attempt to help. As he had skillfully _faked_ being under the Barron's control after they were recaptured.

"I just wish I could have done _more_ ," Usagi proclaimed sadly, but Leo quickly placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

"You have, my friend," The turtle stated truthfully, before looking up as Raph and Mikey walked up.

"He didn't _listen_ to you," Mike announced, causing everyone to turn back to Hun, who had been brought to the floor with pure numbers, "He's not being _controlled_."

"That's fine," Leo announced before walking up to his friends, "Casey; I need you to get everyone out of the building."

"What?" The man stated in shock, before moving to stand before him, "Not a chance Leo, we do this _together_."

"I'm not _asking_ ," Leo proclaimed seriously.

"But –" April tried then as she walked up as well.

"Please," Raph added suddenly, "This is _our_ fight, but we need ta know yu're _safe._ " This caused the two humans to go quite, as they seemed to realize what he was saying, causing Casey to sigh before looking up at them again.

"Well, shit," He complained, "Yu're _not_ those little turtles anymore, are ya?" He asked with a sad smile.

"No," Mikey answered this time, causing the guy to sigh loudly as he looked back at his men, who had finally managed to knock out Hun and were now moving to get the hulk out of the area.

"Alright," Casey finally conceded as he turned back to them, "But ya guys _better_ come back," He threatened, causing them to smile.

"Not ta worry, Case," Raph responded calmly, before reaching out to give his friend a punch to the shoulder, "We got tough skin."

"Yeah," Mikey put in with a huge grin, "It'll take more than 'Mr. Brought to you be _kitchen-aid'_ to take _us_ down," He added leaving everyone to laugh briefly, before they all moved to say their goodbyes, but as the hugs were being passed around, Leo took a moment to walk back to Usagi.

"Go with them," He asked just as the rabbit made to open his mouth.

"You are sure?" He requested respectfully and the turtle nodded.

"We've come full circle," He announced, "It _started_ with us – it's going to _end_ with us."

…

"Well, that's ominous," Mikey proclaimed sourly as they arrived at a long hallway which featured the pointed form of Shredder's emblem on the large doors at the end.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure there aren't any _traps_ down there," Raph announced sarcastically, before Leo stepped up to take in the hall then jumped onto the wall so he could then flip and trick his way to the other side without touching the floor.

"Come on," He called back quietly once he had landed, leaving Mikey and Donnie to go next and finally Raph.

"Okay," Leo stated once they were back together again and moved to remove his helmet, they wouldn't need them anymore. "You ready?" He asked, which his brothers answered by pulling out their weapons and mentally preparing themselves for what lay ahead of them.

Leo simply nodded back before pulling one of his swords from their sheath and quietly approach the door to push it open, allowing them to take in the large darkened area on the other side that was Shredder's thrown room.

Walking between the two lines of pillars that lead up to a short staircase and a large chair was a strange experience, but the turtles continued to keep their cool, making sure to check every nock and cranny for a sign of their opponent that they knew had to be in the room somewhere.

However, once they had finally reached the end and still had yet to see anything, they started to grow jumpy.

"Come out, Shredder," Leo called angrily as they moved to make a circle, so no one could sneak up on them.

"Well, if it isn't my little _super solders_ ," A voice suddenly spoke up and they quickly turned to find a man in a lab coat had appeared from seemingly nowhere to stand next to the thrown like he owned the place, "My, how we've _grown_ ," He proclaimed in a slimy voice which made the turtles tense as they realized they _recognized_ it.

This man had been at the _lab_ , pulling the strings, causing the _pain_. Jordan had told them that _he_ was the one who had always been in charge, _he_ was the reason they were what they were.

" _Stockman_?" Leo asked quietly, casing the man to smile.

"It _speaks_ ," He congratulated, causing them to grip their weapons tighter.

"Where's Shredder?" Raph quickly countered, moving to the front so he was more threatening.

"Busy dealing with the _mess_ you four have made," The man answered, still smiling like it was his birthday or something, "I really must _thank you_ for that," He added.

"Why?" Leo commanded, leaving the guy to wave his hand around a bit.

"Because," He answered simply before turning to look at them again, "It's given _me_ the chance I needed. I knew you'd be good for _something_ I just never thought it would be for _this_."

"Alright, enough with the cryptic messages," Raph threatened before charging the goon, "We didn't come here ta fight _you_ ," He proclaimed, just before plunging his sai into the form of the man who didn't so much as bat an eyebrow.

"What?" Raph stated in shock before pulling back as the form flickered, revealing it to be a _hologram_ , "Damnit to hell," He swore sourly, "I _hate_ these things," He added, before kicking the little display object on the ground, causing it to bounce across the room before displaying the image of Stockman again.

"Now, now," The man proclaimed simply, "Let's save the violence for Shredder, shall we?"

"What do you want?" Leo demanded, nearly ready to just get his team and leave the room in search of their _real_ target.

"For you to _kill him_ ," Stockman suddenly stated, causing them all to go quiet as the man's smile finally dropped into a stern expression, "Take out the son of a bitch and I will _reward_ you – _greatly_."

"What makes ya think we want _anythin'_ from _you_?" Raph countered, causing the man to shrug.

"Fine," He answered simply before changing tactics. "There is a secret entrance behind the chair," This quickly caused the turtles to look at the area before turning back to the hologram, "Shredder is on the _roof_ – but he is _ready_ for you."

"Now – which one of you is the _smart one_?" He demanded, but they didn't answer, causing him to sigh loudly, "The projector," He started again, pointing at the floor, clearly indicating the holographic device, "I made it to incapacitate his _armor_ , use it _only_ when you have a clear shot, 'cause you won't get another chance."

"Why are you helping us?" Donnie asked then.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Stockman countered simply, before emitting another slimy little grin, "Good luck," He announced, before the hologram finally shut off, leaving the turtle's alone in the room once more.

* * *

Well, this is it guys, the next chapter will be the _last_.

X)


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

The turtles were careful as they pulled back a secret panel on the wall behind the thrown to find a dark, narrow passage behind, which they were not too comfortable taking, but did so anyway.

"Ya sure about that thing Donnie?" Raph asked as his brother studied the little gadget Stockman had left them.

"Looks safe to me," Don answered, before going quite a moment as he noticed something about the device.

"What is it?" Leo demanded, but Donnie only put the thing in his pocket.

"Just a safety measure," He answered truthfully, which satisfied his brothers as they made their way through the darkness until rounding a corner to find an _elevator_. However, before they could embark the thing Donnie's cell shell decided to pick that time to ring, causing them all to jump.

"Donnie, we made it back," Zira's voice informed them from the phone.

"Good timing," Donnie stated, as the phone was handed off to someone else.

"My sons, are you alright?" Splinter asked then.

"We're almost to Shredder," Leo told him, which left them in a short silence as their father absorbed that.

"Do not fear," He finally answered, "Make no mistake – you _are_ ready for this,"

These words alone seemed to finally squash the last bits of nervousness and doubt that had been pledged them for so long, leaving the turtles calm and collected as their leader answered.

"We will make you proud," Leo stated seriously.

"You already _have_ my sons, every day," Splinter countered truthfully, "As long as you fight as _one_ – _nothing_ can hold you down. Go – _create your future_ ," He added, before the call was ended and they were returned to reality as they looked back at the elevator before them.

"He's gonna be _waitin'_ for us," Raph growled knowingly.

"Then let's give him something to _remember_ ," Leo mentioned, causing his brothers to look at him and they all quietly shared a smile in response.

…

"At the ready," One of the elite stated as the elevator neared the top of the building and the four of them promptly held their weapons steady in preparation of the turtles. However, when the doors finally opened and they rushed forward to meet their enemies, it was only to find the elevator _empty_.

"What?" Shredder demanded from the other side of the roof, just before one of his men took notice of something on the ground and called for a retreat, but it was too late. The bomb detonated before they could get out of the way, sending the elite guard flying into walls around the area, which left just enough room for the turtles to finally make their entrance through the new hole in the floor and attack.

"Your army can't save you now, Shredder," Leo threatened as he led the charge, jumping at the heavily armored man to bring his sword down toward his face. However, despite the man's heavy dependence on his ninja, he was still a master fighter himself and caught the sword inches from hitting him.

"You think you can take _me_?" Shredder demanded as he grabbed the turtle by the throat with his other hand, "You have no idea what –" He started only to be interrupted by Raph as he used the blind spot his brother had provided to run right up into the man's face and leveled a sucker punch straight to his jaw, forcing him to release Leo as he was throw backwards.

"Ya always did _talk_ ta much," The red-clad turtle proclaimed as he brought his sai into his hands again, while Leo got back to his feet next to him.

"You will _pay_ for that," Shredder threatened as he got up as well, clearly having been spared any damage thanks to the high-tech suit he was sporting. However, a moment later it didn't mater, as Donnie and Mikey appeared on either side of them to throw their grappling hooks at his face.

And as expected the man caught the attack once again. But, just as before, they were ready as the two quickly released the extra length of wire, before hitting a button on the device at the end, causing the two lines to immediately _electrify_ their target.

Unfortunately, the tiny power cells couldn't handle prolonged use and quickly died out again, but they had done their jobs, allowing the turtles to get back into the fight in an attempt to break through the armor that was keeping them for seriously hurting their enemy.

In the end, only Raph managed to make a dent before the man threw them off again, which was quickly followed by a barrage of _blades_ throw from his gantlets to fly through the air in droves as the turtles ducked and weaved their way around the roof in an attempt to avoid being hit.

When he was finally out of ammunition, they quickly converged on him again, only to find the damn things _returning_.

"Look out," Leo called, and they all ducked to avoid the magnetized knives cutting through the air like deadly mini jets as they reconnected with their master's suit; ready for another round.

"Chicken shit," Raph growled, before he was forced to dive out of the way again as Shredder turned to him with glare, held his hand out and called forth a massive _electrical surge_ that split the very air as it pelted the ground where the turtle had just been standing.

"I rest my case," Raph added with a scoff, as he ducked down behind a wall with Mikey.

"We can't keep this up forever; we need to get through that armor," Leo spoke up after he and Donnie dove behind a pillar a few feet away to escape more of the lighting.

"I hate ta admit it, but it sounds ta me like _Stockman_ had the right idea," Raph put in which made Leo growl under his breath. He really didn't want to resort to something they had no _knowledge_ of; for all they knew that little thing could be a _trap_.

But, unfortunately, their hands were forced a moment later when Shredder suddenly landed with a crash about two feet away, as the servos of his suit whirled manically in response to the jump.

"Damnit," Raph swore, before they all bolted in opposite directions to escape more flying blades; however, movement out of the corner of his eye had the turtle quickly realizing that by running out into the open the man now had a _clear shoot_.

"No!" He called and ran to intercept Shredder as he bored down on Mikey with all the strength of his mechanical muscles, which was _too much_ for his brother's body to handle.

In a matter of seconds, they heard the bones in Mike's legs _snap_ as Shredder drove him to the ground, causing him to scream in pain, giving the man time to prepare the blades of his gantlet again and moved to gut him. But, thankfully, he wasn't fast enough to avoid Raph as he jumped onto his back and used his sai to stab into the joints of the armor, where the strengthened metal of his weapon could penetrate.

Within two or three repeated stabs he knew he had made contact, for Shredder suddenly admitted a pained response of his own as he tried to force the turtle off. But Raph just continued his assault, trying to buy his brothers more time.

After nearly a minute of this his sai finally found good purchase in the steal, allowing him to _pry_ the armor open like a can, however before he could get at the mortal body underneath Shredder used his distracted state to strike, catching Raph across the face with his blades and finally throwing him off.

Clutching at the wound, Raph could feel blood pooling in his hand as he moved to get back on his feet, but he was too late to react as Shredder bored down on him again in a fit of rage.

"Get away from my _brother_!" Leo yelled as he appeared on the scene to jump on his back and plunge his sword straight through the hole Raph had managed to create and into the man's left shoulder.

Shredder screamed again as he retaliated, actually using his fist to _pound_ the sword back through the wound from the front, like a hammer would a nail, which caused the handle to hit Leo's shoulder and force him back just far enough that Shredder could reach him.

"Leo," Raph called out in shock as the specialized blades of Shredder's gantlet _pierced_ his brother's chest, likely missing his heart by inches, causing Leo to fall to the ground, where Shredder raised his fist to finish the deed.

However, that was when Donnie materialized in front of him, managing to land a few good hits before Shredder caught his arm and twisted it 'til it snapped. But before the man could continue with the assault; the small _bomb_ Donnie had placed on his chest plate during his attack _detonated_ , sending Shredder flying back with such force that he went right through a wall, where he was momentarily buried in the derby.

Finally gaining a slight upper hand, the turtles immediately used it to collect the fallen and retreat to the other side of the roof in an attempt to treat the more serious injuries.

"Leo, stop it, don't move," The doctor ordered; as his brother attempted to get back on his feet, even though the wound to his chest was bleeding profusely, causing his breathing to come out in painful, gasping breaths.

"I'm fine," He tried to insist, even though he was very aware that the only reason he wasn't in any pain was because his adrenaline level was so high.

"You're _not_ fine," Donnie countered before they all looked up again as the wall where their enemy was buried exploded outward; allowing the man to get back to his feet as though nothing had happened.

"You gotta be _kidding_ me," Mikey complained tiredly as he realized they were running out of options, "What does it take to hurt this guy?"

"Donnie?" Leo ordered quickly as he finally got to his feet again and his brother turned to look at him, "Is it ready?" He asked suddenly, causing them all to go quite as they realized what he was talking about.

"Yes," Donnie answered after a moment and Leo nodded before moving to stand between his family and their enemy, which was all the cue Don needed to reach into his bag for the device that Stockman had left to them and handed it to Mikey.

"Get ready," Leo said quietly and they all nodded before, Donnie and Raph got up as well and moved to block their little brother so, he could work without being seen.

"You will not defeat me," Shredder called as he continued to walk toward them across the roof, "You are _weak_ , just like your _father_ ," He added causing them all to tense, but they still waited another minute until the man had finally reached the spot where they needed him.

Taking his chance, Mikey quickly activated the device in his hand and threw it across the ground with just enough force that it stopped right underneath Shredder's feet, where it then proceeded to unleash a massive energy pulse, causing his armor to quite suddenly loose all of its power.

"Now!" Leo ordered, when he realized the device had indeed worked as promised and Donnie quickly lifted his arm to press a button on his gantlet which immediately caused the building to _shake_ underneath them as explosives in specific places started going off in just the right order needed to topple the structure.

"What have you _done_?" Shredder demanded distractedly; which the turtles used to their advantage; each pulling out of a grappling hook as they moved to circle their enemy and let the ropes fly, effectively trapping him in a four pronged web as the whoosh of the fire continued to build up just below Shredder's feet.

"You may have _created_ us," Leo answered as the building rocked from another explosion, causing Shredder to look at him in fury as he attempted again to break free, but they all quickly put their foot down on the ropes and pulled it taut.

"You may have _controlled_ us," He added as they prepared for the explosion they could hear bearing up from the earth like a fight train, "But we will _not_ live in _fear_ ," Leo finally responded as the roof started dissolving around them.

But they were ready to take this to the _end_ and showed no fear as Shredder screamed at them in anger only to be drowned out by one last explosion that returned him to the darkness from which he had come. Yet, even this could do nothing to hold back the turtle's final words.

" _WE ARE FREE_!"


	12. Epilogue

Oh come on, you didn't think I would end it there, did you… ;)

But this is the _final_ Chapter of 'The Walls We Build' series.

Enjoy

* * *

 _The Destiny We Forge_

Epilogue:

"April?" Splinter's voice called to her as he, Bishop and Zira made their way through the crowd of mindless ninja and rebel street fighters that had filed from Shredder's building to get to a safe distance in the overgrown city of Hell's Kitchen.

"Master Splinter," The woman finally answered him and he turned to find April and Casey pushing through the gang.

"Have they returned?" He asked immediately, upon reaching her, only to be interrupted when the ninja all around them started _dropping_ like flies.

"What the hell?" Casey demanded and quickly moved to check one, insuring the man was still alive.

"This is it," Zira added then, causing everyone to look at her, as she pulled out the cell phone Donnie had given her, "This is what Donnie said would happen, they're being _freed_."

"What about the Barron's army?" Bishop asked then.

"Yes, them too," She responded as she looked at the phone, which showed her that her brothers base was officially under siege, his army was gone, his technology was being destroyed – he had nowhere to run.

However, their high spirits were dashed when an _explosion_ suddenly rocked the very earth beneath their feet, causing everyone to duck in attempt to escape the noise, only to look around as the building they had just escaped from, _crumbled_ under the fire.

"No!" April cried as she realized the turtles were still inside, but, before she could try to go back in, Casey pulled her back, leaving them all to watch helplessly at the structure continued to collapse.

…

The fires weren't even out yet by the time the group converged on the rubble and started digging in an attempt to locate their friends. But after several minute of continued dead ends, their hope was beginning to wane.

"April?" Casey said kindly, when he noticed her off to the side, clearly trying to stop herself from crying so she could help with the search, only to turn and throw herself at Casey as he approached in an attempt to comfort her.

However, just as he was about to say some encouraging words a new voice called from over the ruckus.

"Over here."

"It's _Mikey_ ," Another called once he was finally able to make out who it was and within moments a number of people had dug their way over to the man's location and proceeded to carefully push away debris, bricks and concrete until finally the turtle underneath could be reached.

"Michelangelo?" Splinter asked worriedly; as he brought his youngest son into his arms and attempted to wake him, "Please, my son, open your eyes," He begged, but the turtle continued to remain unconscious as April checked him over, thankfully discovering that he was in fact still _alive_ , but – _unresponsive_.

"Mikey?" She whispered as she gently held his face, trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Hey," Someone else called from a mound of concrete on their left. "We found another one," He added and several people quickly went to help dig him out, revealing it was Leo this time.

"Is he okay?" April asked as she worked to move down a small mountain and rushed over to check on him, only to find that he was as motionless as his brother.

"Over here," Another person sounded off after a short time, "It's _Raph_ ," They added and everyone quickly converged on the area, leaving the two injured turtles to be gently moved from the rubble where anyone with medical experience quickly offered their assistance.

Eventually, Raph was brought over as well, but no one failed to notice the deep gash across the left side of his face that had clearly been caused by a blade. However, with a hint of fear, April soon came to the realization that the wound wasn't _healing_ like it normally should have.

"We got him," Someone else called out a minute later when they finally located Donnie and carefully carried him over as well.

Though they had all received injuries, their shells had thankfully protected them through most of the explosion and the following collapse. However, they _still_ would not regain consciousness.

"I don't get it – why aren't they waking up?" April asked in distress as she continued to search for the meaning.

"I understand," Zira put in then, causing everyone to look at her, "That's what Donnie's program was meant to do, _release_ – _everyone_ ," She explained waving a hand around at Shredder's ninja, who were all still unconscious as well, "The nano-bots have been _destroyed_ ," She went on quietly as she looked back at Donnie worriedly, "They're _free_."

…

It seemed that Zira had been right in the end, for after a few days, the people that had been under Shredder's or the Barron's control, woke to realize they could finally move their own bodies once more.

Those that could, were reintroduced back into society, with Officer Frank's help, however, some, like Hun, were condoned off and arrested for crimes against the people, but even as things began to return to normal, or at least as normal as they got, no one failed to notice that the _turtles_ were the only ones that did not recover.

Unfortunately, with the loss of the nano-bots their wounds did not heal like they once did, and their bodies seemed to suffer for it. Not able to cope with the sudden inability to repair the damage.

Though Casey's gang had thankfully managed to get to them in time to stop the bleeding and save their lives, they had still received injuries that would now take time to recover from.

Both of Mikey's legs were broken in different places, as well as Raph's collar bone and several ribs, and while Donnie had received a bad head injury and a broken wrist, Leo's arm had nearly been _crushed_ in the collapse and a wound to his chest was proving to be difficult to repair.

But it wasn't just the injuries they needed to account for, as the doctors had no idea what kind of _internal_ damage the turtles had endured from the battle or the building falling on them. Yet, all the same, they were kept in the best of care, waiting for the day they finally opened their eyes.

…

(2 weeks later)

"Mikey?" April asked hopefully as she joined Splinter at their bedside, after having been informed that the youngest was starting to stir.

"Come now, my son," The ninja master added kindly, "You have slept long enough."

"Sorry if I don't _agree_ , Sensei," Michelangelo proclaimed, before finally opening his eyes to look up at his father, who smiled upon seeing their color just as bright and full of life as they had always been.

"Are you alright?" April asked as she sat down to fuss over him a bit, "Are you in any pain?"

"Yeah," He answered simply, causing her to smile sadly, before moving to give him another dose of morphine, which took effect immediately, as he suddenly started smiling at everyone.

"Hi," He told his father lovingly, causing the man to carefully lay a hand over his.

"Hello, my son," He answered, "How are you feeling?"

" _Hungry_ ," He proclaimed seriously, leaving them all to laugh lightly, before taking notice of the way he was looking about the room.

"They are here," Splinter announced, moving slightly so he could see his brothers, "They are alive," He added, causing the turtle to sigh in relief.

"Okay, now – _seriously_ ," He started again in a slightly slurred tone as he moved to sit up, "What is it with us and _explosions_?" He finally asked, "That's like the – what – _third_ in a _month_?" He complained sternly as April moved his pillow so he could rest his back against the headboard of the bed.

"Someone up there must really hate us," A new voice suddenly agreed, causing them all to look around and find Raph opening his eyes as well.

"It _figures_ you would all wake up at the same time," April announced as she moved to check on him, making sure he didn't move his upper body or aggravate his injuries.

"Hey, bro," Mikey answered with a smile in his direction; however, the grin quickly disappeared when Raph turned his head enough that he could see the left side of his face and the _bandages_ that covered it.

"Don't look at me in that tone a voice," Raph countered, before he could comment, "I'd much rather loose an _eye_ than a _brother_."

Mikey tried to comment on that, however, he found he couldn't really make the words come out. But, thankfully for him, his need to answer was rendered void when a new voice entered the conversation.

"I'm starting to wish I had stayed home and raised _apples_ ," Donnie put in, causing his brothers to look in his direction as the turtle moved to push himself into a sitting position.

" _Don't_ even think about it," Zira warned as she reached out to push him back down, after staying with him the entire time he had been unconscious, the last thing she wanted was for him to get up and hurt himself all over again.

"There is no need to push yourself, my son; your brothers are well cared for," Splinter informed him, knowing full well that it was his medical training that was forcing Donnie to get up before he was ready.

"He's right, Don, just stay down," Leo responded then, making everyone jump slightly and they turned to find him looking up at the ceiling with a tense air about him, which caused Splinter to get up and walk to his side.

"Are you alright?" He asked gently and Leo nodded, "You seem – _distant_?" He added truthfully and the turtle took in a breath before talking again.

"I'm glad we're alive," He admitted simply, "But – but I can't help but wonder – if _we_ survived – what about _Shredder_?"

"Leonardo," Splinter stated sternly, but kindly, as he reached out to lay a hand on his uninjured shoulder, "His _body_ was found," He added, causing all four of them to look at their father in shock.

"He's –" Mikey tried to begin, but the words got stuck in his throat.

"Yes," Splinter answered simply, which seemed to be almost too much for his sons to comprehend, as they just continued to look at him in astonishment, before finally the words sank in and their posture relented allowing them to absorb it.

"We _did_ it?" Donnie asked, before a smile formed on his face and he leaned back into his pillow to place a hand over his eyes, trying to keep himself from completely losing it.

"Yes, my sons," Splinter answered, "Your mission was _successful,_ " He added as they all looked at him again as he smiled, "You are _free_."

…

(Three months later)

It took several weeks for the turtles to finally get back on their feet, forced to endure some rigorous therapy to recover their strength and mobility, and though there were a few scars to adjust to and some internal struggles to work out, after a while, things had nearly returned to normal.

For the first time since coming back to New York, they were able to really take in the city and even participate in some of the common _mutant_ cultures in the area, they even found a designer clothes store that specialized in the many different formed and comforts of mutants.

After spending their whole lives tying to adjust to _human_ clothing, this was truly something to behold and take advantage of. However, it was the _people_ they truly found most enjoyable.

In their childhood they would have never imagined they would see New York so _peaceful_. Humans and mutants alike, living together, walking the same streets, talking the same words, as though there were no differences between, which was something they quickly found they wanted to _protect_ , which was how they decided that they wanted to _stay_.

However, not everyone was on board.

"Leaving?" Donnie asked in slight shock, distractedly turning from his work as Zira smiled at him.

"Yeah," She responded, "I need move my people somewhere _safe_ , where my brother can't reach them."

"Right," He admitted, knowing that it was very likely that the Barron had escaped their attack, while they were concentrating on Shredder. Though they had hoped to get him as well; they knew from the beginning that their only purpose for going to his base was to free his prisoners and his army.

"Wait a minute," Raph suddenly butted into the conversation as he stood up from the chair Donnie had him sitting in to glare at her, "Ya can't just _leave_ ," He added sternly, despite his brother's insistence that he sit back down.

"Aw! I knew you would miss me," She joked with a grin, reaching out to pat his check lovingly, causing him to pull away.

"Not likely," He countered dryly, "What about the _chain_?"

"If it was going to bother us, it would have done so when Zira was on the _moon_ ," Donnie pointed out truthfully, causing his brother to close his mouth as he realized the truth of that.

"Yeah – well –" He proclaimed in an attempt to find a way to keep the argument going, but it seemed his mind wouldn't allow for it.

"Don't worry, Red, I'll come visit," Zira added kindly, leaving him to snarl once again.

"Please, _don't_ ," He requested, causing her and Donnie to laugh, before his brother stood up and pushed him back down into the chair then turned back to Zira.

"Then, I guess this is goodbye," He stated respectfully as he held out his hand and she casually placed hers in it, "For now," He added with a smile, which she returned, before suddenly throwing her arms around his neck, causing him to freeze momentarily, before returning it.

"Thank you, Donnie," She spoke into his ear, so only he could hear, "If I only ever have _one_ friend in this life, I'm glad it was _you_ ," She stated genuinely, leaving him to momentarily hug her tighter, before parting ways again.

"Yeah, yeah," Raph mumbled dryly as he leveled his chin into his hand, "Ya think ya two could do that somewhere else, yu're drippin' syrup on my foot," He droned sourly, causing Zira to smile at him.

"Why can't I ever stay mad at you?" She asked sarcastically, leaving him to scoff.

"I'm sure we can work somethin' out," He countered, making her laugh, before she leaned down to kiss him on the check, causing the turtle to shun away like she'd just poisoned him.

"Stay in touch," Zira added with a wave as she walked back toward the door and finally disappeared around the corner, leaving Donnie to look after her for a moment before turning back to his brother.

"Come on, Raph," Donnie proclaimed with a raised eye-ridge at his antics, as he proceeded to wipe his face with the back of his hand, "We're a little old to be worrying about _cooties_ , don't ya think?" He added dryly as he sat back in his chair then reached out to grab his head and bring it down to his level so he could study his eye again.

"She's an _alien_ , we don't know _what_ she's got." He countered truthfully, but didn't move as Donnie carefully removed the last of the bandages and the pad that had been taped over the wound, causing him to hiss.

"So, how's it look?" Raph added, fidgeting slightly as his brother gently cleaned the injury and sighed, "That bad, huh?" He responded himself.

"I wish I could say there's something I can do, but –" Donnie tried sadly, only to be interrupted.

"Come on, man, ya act like it's the end a the world," Raph countered simply, "The way I see it, this'll help me focus on one thing at a time," He added with a smile, which his brother did not return.

"You're taking this surprisingly – _well_ ," Donnie proclaimed, raising an eye-ridge at him questionably.

"Are ya kiddin'?" He stated with a laugh, "Look at us Donnie, we fought Shredder, we took him _down_ and _lived_ ta tell the tale. I consider an _eye_ a _small_ price to pay for that," He exclaimed seriously, before smiling again as his brother finally sighed in acceptance, "And besides –" He added smugly as he leaned back in his chair, "I think it makes me look _tough_ , don't you?"

"Actually, I think it makes you look like you got your _ass kicked_ ," Donnie countered as he casually put his equipment away, leaving his brother to glare at him, before getting up to trap him in a head lock in order to exact his revenge.

…

(A few days later)

In the end, it wasn't too hard to locate a home in the city, as people were more than happy to have their _saviors_ living among them, which was how the turtles eventually commandeered an underground _subway station_ that wasn't in use.

Hidden and out of the way, it was the perfect spot for a family of _ninja_ and they quickly swore to bring it back to life and make it their own. However, all work and no play tended to grate on their nerves, so they often found themselves patrolling the city on a regular basis; to ensure its safety.

But this night, they found themselves heading across the river, to check on something that had been bothering them for a while.

"This is it," Donnie suddenly informed them as they walked across a field of rubble and his brothers turned to him with shocked expressions, before looking around at the debris that had once been a building.

"Are you sure?" Leo asked quietly and Donnie nodded as he checked his gantlet again.

"Yeah, this was the _Lab_ ," He stated calmly, "This was where we were _born_."

"Huh," Mikey exclaimed after a few minutes of silence passed between them, "I remember it being _taller_."

"Really?" Raph muttered around a laugh, "I remember it actually bein' a _building_."

"How long ago do you think it was destroyed?" Leo asked next and Donnie shock his head.

"Hard to say, at least several years," He guessed as he picked up a piece of concrete to check it over, before dropping it again.

"Do you think everyone got out?" Raph asked.

"I'm sensing very little blood," He answered as he ran a scan for the substance, "If there were people inside when it went down, we'd been seeing a lot more."

"So, it really is over," Mikey exclaimed, before moving to sit on the edge of a large slab of concrete, "You think this means we can finally have a normal life?" He added absentmindedly.

"Doubt it," Donnie answered with a little laugh.

"Yeah – not that having _Raph_ as a brother could ever be considered _normal_ ," The youngest responded with a smile, causing said sibling to turn to him with a glare and raised his hand in clear indication of hitting him.

But as the little twit winced in preparation, he became slightly surprised when the small pain didn't come, and instead, Raph just dropped his arm over his shoulders and pulled him in for a noogie, causing the smaller turtle to complain loudly as his other brothers laughed at his misfortune.

"Splinter always did say 'being normal is _vastly_ overrated'," Leo added as he took a step to the side, so he wasn't in the way, while the two proceeded to tussle across the rubble field, causing Donnie to laugh lightly himself, before looking up as something caught his attention and smiled.

"Hey," He called toward his distracted siblings and they quickly stopped in order to see it for themselves; which quickly ended their squabble, as they got up to stand once more _together as one_. Having finally come full circle, they watched the sun rise over the horizon, singling the start of a new day and a _new life_.

* * *

I'm not gonna lie, I _cried_ when I wrote that last line.

I can't believe I've finally finished it. XD

I hope you've all enjoyed the ride, I know I have.


End file.
